1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the field of devices for relieving ear pain and, more particularly, to such a device having a heat generating means.
2. Background of the Relevant Art
Ear pain is a wide-spread phenomenon which is attributable to a variety of causes. For example, changes in the air pressure inside an aircraft cabin may adversely affect the passengers therein and inflict ear pain which ranges from the familiar "popping" to severe debilitating pain and sinus pressure. Sometimes the sinus pressure is so acute as to cause bleeding from the nasal cavities for days after the actual pressure changes are encountered. The problem of sudden pressure changes in the cabin is endemic to modern aircraft, regardless of the size and pressurization capacity. Hence, private pilots, as well as the passengers and crew of commercial airliners, may be equally affected by this phenomenon, which is known as "barotrauma". Those occupants of the aircraft who are flying with conditions such as sinusitis, naso-pharyngitis, tonsillitis, rhinitis etc. are particularly prone to develop barotrauma. Likewise, children under the age of seven who have not as yet developed sinuses can suffer ear pain. This problem is especially acute during ascent and descent of the aircraft, when equalization of the pressure between the inner and outer ear is particularly hard to achieve.
Barotrauma is also a phenomenon commonly encountered by underwater divers. Even if a diver is careful to keep his ascent and descent as gradual as possible, the effect of the barotrauma can still be profound, as can be the accompanying pain. Additionally, certain illnesses such as middle ear infections, congestion accompanying the common cold etc. can result in unequal pressure, causing the tympanic membrane to bulge inward. Again, pain is the result.
The idea of applying heat to the outer ear in order to raise pressure in the middle ear, thus causing the tympanic membrane to assume its normal position, is not novel. The problem of barotrauma is dealt with in U.S. Pat. No. 4,408,605. This patent discloses a device for treatment of barotrauma of the middle ear which comprises in combination: a flexible backing portion which is crushable by hand kneading; an annular cushion portion carried by the backing which is shaped and adapted to fit over and enclose the outer ear; and a hand pressure-activated chemical heating package retained by the backing and annular portions. The package contains chemicals in separate compartments which, upon rupture and subsequent mixing of the chemicals by crushing and hand kneading, produces an exothermic reaction. When the device is held over the outer ear, the heat generated by the exothermic reaction is transmitted to the middle ear to treat the barotrauma by reducing the pain and by increasing the volume of the air contained therein. Thus, the device disclosed in the above-listed patent addresses the problem of relieving the ear pain by the application of an analgesic (heat), and by equalizing the inner and outer pressure by the application of the heat.
While the device described in the preceding paragraph may be effective for relieving the pain and other consequences of barotrauma, the device does have certain disadvantages. The hand pressure-activated chemical heating package can be used only one time after which it must be discarded. It is suggested in the disclosure that the device can be constructed to be reusable by sterilizing it and attaching a new chemical packet. However, even the reusable embodiment of the device requires a repeat user to keep a supply of chemical packets on hand. This is inconvenient to the occasional user, and can be an expensive proposition for a regular institutional user such as an airline.
It would be desirable to provide a device for relieving inner ear pain which is entirely reusable and sterilizable, and which does not require the storage of potentially expensive, potentially toxic, chemical packets.
It would also be desirable to provide such a device wherein the heat source may be reused over the life of the device.